Rosenberg, Ethel and Julius orig. Ethel Greenglass (respec¬ tively b. Sept. 28, 1915, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 19, 1953, Ossin¬ ing, N.Y.; b. May 12, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 19, 1953, Ossining, N.Y.) U.S. spies. They were married in 1939, by which time they were already active in the Communist Party. In 1940 Julius became an engineer with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He and his wife, Ethel, apparently gave military secrets to the Soviet military in a conspiracy with Ethel’s brother, Sgt. David Greenglass, a machinist on the atomic-bomb project at Los Alamos, N.M., and Harry Gold, a courier for the U.S. espionage ring. They were all arrested in mid-1950. Greenglass and Gold received prison terms, but the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death. Despite several appeals and a worldwide campaign for mercy, they were executed at Sing Sing Prison in 1953, the only U.S. civilians ever executed for espionage. Despite considerable controversy in subsequent years, the question of their guilt was largely resolved in the early 1990s, when the release of Soviet intelligence information confirmed the Rosenbergs’ involvement in espionage.
Rosenquist, James (b. Nov. 29, 1933, Grand Forks, N.D., U.S.) U.S. painter. His youthful employment as a billboard painter influenced the enlarged imagery and cool, impersonal style of painting that he devel¬ oped by the early 1960s. In a typical painting, he juxtaposed imagery from pop culture, advertising, and other mass media using bright colours and a large canvas. This interest in popular culture has led many to define him
as a precursor to Pop art. He has also created large works combining lithography, screenprinting, etching, and collage.
Rosenzweig Yro-zan-.tsvIkV Franz (b. Dec. 25, 1886, Kassel, Ger.—d. Dec. 10, 1929, Frankfurt am Main) German existentialist and religious philosopher. As a student at Berlin and Freiburg, he rejected the idealism of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. He briefly thought of con¬ verting to Christianity from Judaism but turned instead to an intensive reading of the Hebrew classics. While serving in World War I, he began to formulate the existentialist understanding of faith and belief that would eventuate in his major work, The Star of Redemption (1921). He collabo¬ rated with Martin Buber on a translation of the Hebrew scriptures in which he tried to restore what he thought was the existentialist tone of the origi¬ nal.
Roses, Wars of the (1455 -85) Series of dynastic civil wars between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne. The wars were named for the emblems of the two houses, the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster. Both claimed the throne through descent from Edward III. Lancastrians held the throne from 1399, but the country fell into a state of near anarchy during the reign of Henry VI, and during one of Henry’s bouts with madness in 1453 the duke of York was declared protector of the realm. Henry reestablished his authority in 1455, and the battle was joined. The Yorkists succeeded in putting Edward IV on the throne in 1461, but the wars continued, and in 1471 they murdered Henry VI in the Tower of London. In 1483 Richard III overrode the claims of his nephew Edward V to seize the throne, alienating many Yorkists. The Lancastrian Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the wars. He united the houses by marriage and defeated a Yorkist rising in 1487. See also earl of Warwick.
Rosetta \ro-'ze-t3\ Stone Inscribed stone slab, now in the British Museum, that provided an important key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. An irregularly shaped block of black basalt with inscrip¬ tions in hieroglyphs, Demotic Egyp¬ tian, and Greek, it was discovered by Napoleon’s troops near the town of Rosetta (Rashid), northeast of Alex¬ andria, in 1799. The text concerns the deeds of Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205-180 bc) and dates from the ninth year of his reign. Its decipher¬ ment was begun by Thomas Young, who isolated the proper names in the Demotic version, and decisively completed by J.-F. Champollion, who grasped that some hieroglyphs were phonetic.
Rosewall, Ken(neth Ronald)
(b. Nov. 2, 1934, Sydney, Austl.)
Australian tennis player. He won his first major titles, the Wimbledon men’s doubles and the French singles, in 1956. He remained a top competitor for 25 years, winning 18 grand-slam titles. His last major vic¬ tory came in 1973 when he was part of the Australian Davis Cup team.
Rosh Hashanah \,rash-h3-'sha-n3\ Jewish New Year. Sometimes called the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah falls on Tishri 1 (in Sep¬ tember or October) and ushers in a 10-day period of self-examination and penitence that ends with Yom Kippur. The liturgy includes the blowing of the ram’s horn, or shofar, a call for spiritual awakening associated with the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is also called the Day of Remembrance, since it celebrates the creation of the world and the responsibilities of the Jews as God’s chosen people. It is a solemn but hopeful holiday; bread and fruit dipped in honey are eaten as omens of sweetness for the year ahead.
Rosicrucian Yro-za-'kru-shsnV Member of a secret worldwide brother¬ hood claiming to possess esoteric wisdom handed down from ancient times. The name derives from the order’s symbol, a combination of a rose and a cross. Its origins are obscure. Its earliest known document, Account of the Brotherhood (1614), tells the story of the supposed founder, Chris¬ tian Rosenkreuz (“Rose Cross”), allegedly born in 1378, who is said to
The Rosetta Stone, with Egyptian hiero¬ glyphs in the top section, demotic char¬ acters in the middle, and Greek at the bottom; in the British Museum.
COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1644 i Ross ► Rossetti
have acquired his wisdom on trips to the Middle East and imparted it to his followers on his return to Germany. He is now generally considered a symbolic rather than a real character. Some regard Paracelsus as the true founder; others say Rosicrucianism is only the accumulated wisdom passed down from Plato, Jesus, Philo Judaeus, Plotinus, and others. No reliable evidence dates the order’s history earlier than the 17th century. The international Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis was founded in 1915; it and other Rosicrucian groups continue to operate today.
Ross, Betsy orig. Elizabeth Griscom (b. Jan. 1, 1752, Philadelphia, Pa.—d. Jan. 30, 1836, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) American patriot. She worked as a seamstress and upholsterer, carrying on her husband’s uphol¬ stery business after he was killed in the American Revolution. According to legend, in 1776 she was visited by George Washington, Robert Morris, and her husband’s uncle George Ross, who asked her to make a flag for the new nation based on a sketch by Washington. She is supposed also to have suggested the use of the five-pointed star rather than the six-pointed one chosen by Washington. Though Ross did make flags for the navy, no firm evidence supports the legend of the national flag. In 1777 the Con¬ tinental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the U.S. flag.
Ross, Diana See Supremes
Ross, Harold W(allace) (b. Nov. 6, 1892, Aspen, Colo., U.S.—d. Dec. 6, 1951, Boston, Mass.) U.S. editor. He worked as a reporter and editor before launching The New Yorker in 1925 with the financial back¬ ing of a wealthy friend. The new magazine soon attracted established writers and artists as well as young talent drawn by its innovative style and Ross’s encouragement. His famously unvarnished speech and blus¬ ter, which seemed at odds with his magazine’s sophistication, masked extraordinary editorial instincts and capacities. Ross remained the guid¬ ing force behind The New Yorker until his death, though he relinquished many of his duties in his later years.